December 11, 2011

Breeding and Feeding

Breeding is now completed and I have pulled my BFL rams and combined the two breeding groups.  Since we did not get the Gotland ram until mid November, I will leave him with his group of Gotland ewes and BFL mules for another couple of weeks just to make sure that everyone is settled.

Feeding has begun in earnest.  It is always a bit of a headache with three breeding groups in action but now I will combine the flock and see how the Premier One Sheep feeder that I recently purchased from the Woolgrowers in Lethbridge performs.  While square bales are easier for me to manage with small groups of sheep and I have had pretty good success  minimizing the amount of vegetable matter that gets into my fleeces if I feed on the ground, the amount of waste is staggering.   I have gone to the extra work of forking hay from a round bale into various feeders but this is a hassle and if anybody gets in the way it is an instant disaster.  We have been using the new feeder (six panels with four feeding holes in each) with a small group of ewes for the last few weeks.  Their fleeces are staying pretty clean (except for the neck wool which will be discarded anyway) and at least so far, they seem to be doing a better job of cleaning up the tougher bits.  I have my fingers crossed!

I will keep you posted!

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